LONG BEACH - Jewell Holloway Sr., took it all in stride Monday - the endless line, the hot sun, the long wait.

He had his hopes on pinning down one of about 110 new jobs at the Long Beach Airport, and he was one of hundreds of people outside the Airport Marriott Hotel, quietly waiting for the opportunity to submit his application.

The food and retail service jobs are up for grabs as a result of the airport's modernization projects.

Screening for the new jobs is being conducted at a job fair this week through Saturday. The job fair will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Holloway, a former security worker for the aerospace industry, has been looking for work for over a year, he said.

"The job market is rough, competing with thousands and thousands of people," said Holloway, who attended the job fair in a suit and striped tie.

On-the-spot interviews could be conducted, so applicants should dress professionally and take their resumes, airport officials suggested. However, Holloway's suit was the exception, since most applicants dressed casually Monday.

About 150 people were at the job fair when it opened about 9 a.m., according to airport spokeswoman Stephanie Morisky.

"It's been a steady stream since," she said shortly before 11 a.m., when about 1,500 people were standing in line.

The job fair will help fill about 110 new permanent jobs that could start as early as November.

The new airport concourse will include more than 10,000 square feet of new retail and restaurant space managed by The Paradies Shops. The company is bringing in local vendors such as Polly's Coffee, Sweet Jill's Bakery, 4th Street Vine, George's Greek Cafe and second locations for Long Beach Clothing Co., which will be called 562 Experience, and McKenna's on the Bay, whose second restaurant will be named McKenna's on the Fly.

The new concourse is expected open in 2013, though the project is ahead of schedule and could open earlier, according to Morisky.

Isabel Smith said she had recently relocated to Long Beach from Massachusetts after 35 years in the airline industry.

"I want to get back in the workforce," she said.

Another job-seeker, Derrell Sterling of Bellflower, said he had worked at LAX until a remodeling project closed down the area where he worked.